The State of English Literature Today

ENGLISH LITERATURE TODAY?-By ASHISH PANDITA, (XI GRADE)ST.MARK'S SR. SEC. PUBLIC SCHOOL, MEERA BAGH, NEW DELHI

William Shakespeare, the name is in itself so well embedded in the English language that on hearing the two words English and literature in sequence, it is the first thing that comes up in one's mind.He is regarded by many, even as the Father of English literature and his works touched the brim of perfectness.His reputation stands unchallenged till this day.Most of his popular works mirrored the societal conditions and settings of the then sixteenth century.Such works of literature which gained tremendous popularity centuries ago are put into a separate bracket of Classical literature, so that their reputation remains unharmed.Classical literature has been made a must read in almost all the schools.We can hold two different views on this situation. Now for example, Shakespearean literature describes characters in a larger than life manner,each minute detail of every character is heavily and accurately exemplified.So, it will always hold relevance as what if the societal conditions have seen a variation in the past few centuries but the character traits shall always remain the same.On the other hand,the literature works which the public currently adores such as the Harry Potter series,Da Vinci Code and various other marvels that are read by even small children with interest unaffected by the large sizes of these books, are constantly kept out of school curriculum as if they are serious tabboo.The modern works that do get included are not selected on the parameters of popularity and are simply handpicked.It is interesting to see the irony of the situation that exists , unnoticed.Here we see on one hand the ever appreciating value of literature which was popular ages ago and on the other hand we see the indifferent attitude put up towards the currently prevalent litrature.